19 February 2013

Peter Kenny: Australia’s Biggest Tolkien Fan

Peter Kenny of Queensland, Australia is so passionate about
the writings of J.R.R. Tolkien, and has amassed one of the most impressive
collections of Middle-earth memorabilia, that he has been deemed Australia’s
biggest Tolkien fan.

Peter’s first experience was in 1976, when, as a young
teacher, he was transferred to the sugar cane growing district of Bundaberg. “Living
in a new town I met people from various different walks of life and this
experience would open new doors in my life,” he recalls. “It is said new
friendships are doorways to new worlds, and one doorway led me to a road which
I would follow to the wonderful world of Tolkien’s Middle-earth.”

“Little did I realise back then that a large, single
volume paperback, called The Lord of the
Rings, given as a gift, would create in me a person who is now a passionate
Tolkien fan who has gathered a large diverse collection of Tolkien books and
memorabilia and attends overseas events as a presenter of various Tolkien
related subjects.”

However, Peter admits he had some difficulty getting into The Lord of the Rings.

“That first contact
with the Tolkien phenomenon was fairly slow going and the story The Lord of the Rings was arousing no
interest in me as its opening chapters failed to capture my imagination. I
revisited the book on occasions, skipping chapters to read only those I
considered to be exciting, but largely it remained unfinished for a
considerable time.

“It was 1978 when I
met The Hobbit.A teacher colleague was reading the story to
our students and I suddenly became aware of the link between this story and The Lord of the Rings. Those previously
uninteresting opening chapters now became enthralling to me.I soon bought a copy of The Hobbit and within a few weeks I had read this story and the
unfinished The Lord of the Rings.”

So what was it
about The Hobbit that drew him in?

“The Hobbit was my first real visit to
Middle-earth. This was a story so different to anything I had read before. All
books I had read up to this time were set in our real world, past or present,
but they were stories in a world I was familiar with. The few Science Fiction
stories I had read took me to other planets in the universe, but The Hobbit was a new experience. It
introduced me to a world full of adventure where fantastic people, both good
and bad, interacted in an exciting story. This new “universe” captured my full
attention and opened my imagination to new possibilities and images. I now felt
I was a citizen of this world of Middle-earth and I wanted to know more and
more about it.”

An Avid Collector

In
the decades that have followed, Peter has accumulated many unique and exciting
pieces of Tolkien memorabilia. Among his most prized possessions are a “porcelain
statue of Arwen and Aragorn, the leather bound Children of Hurin, Proudfoot’s personal invitation to Bilbo’s Party
and several others I value and like.”

The most prized,
however, is his 1937 edition of The
Hobbit, “although I personally like the original unique newspaper lift out:
‘THE TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT’, SATURDAY, OCTOBER 2, 1937. The Hobbit Book Review…
A WORLD FOR CHILDREN.’ The final sentence of the review reads, ‘Prediction is
dangerous; but ‘The Hobbit’ may well
prove a classic.’

“But of course my
biggest item, that everyone loves, is ‘The Hobbit Hole-A miniature Bag End’
(known as Maddie’s Hobbit Hole-after its creator). [It is] a 102cm x 117cm model
that will soon be on display in the Queensland Museum.”

The
Brisbane Tolkien Fellowship

&

Proudfoot Esquire Foundation

Another way in which Peter has channelled his passion is by
being an active member of the Brisbane Tolkien Fellowship. “The Fellowship is not a
formal group,” he explains, “but it meets in a social atmosphere and currently
I am the convenor of meetings.”

The mission of the Fellowship is:

To create a greater awareness and appreciation of all J.R.R. Tolkien's works and all that is associated with his world.

To meet people with similar interests and to develop relationships.

To create social events to bring people together with friends and family.

To create events where people can share knowledge, skills, and ideas.

Additionally, he founded a sub-group within the Fellowship,
known as the Proudfoot Esquire Foundation, which is more formal than the
Fellowship, being run
as a small non-profit business organisation.

“I
originally formed the Fortinbras Proudfoot Esq. Foundation through my love of
all things Tolkien and the knowledge that there are others out there who share
my passion. My objective for the Foundation is that it be maintained as a
non-profit organisation with a charter to raise funds for various charitable
organisations which support children’s Literacy and Education through Literacy
for all age groups. It is through the promotion and presentation of public
events that we aim to achieve these goals.”

While
the Foundation has currently been working only at the local level, enough
people have expressed interest in helping it achieve its goals that Peter says
there are plans to begin looking at the national and international levels.

“A
number of fundraising events and initiatives are being planned and we hope to
have some exciting things to share in the near future which should attract
interests from a larger audience.

It
is therefore the right time to ask fans from overseas to suggest initiatives
that we could pursue in our quest to support Children’s Literacy and Education
through Literacy.”

For more information about
Peter Kenny, the Brisbane Tolkien Fellowship, or the Proudfoot Esquire
Foundation, visit his website at http://proudfootesq.com/ and follow him
on Twitter (@ProudfootEsq).